A fundamental part of a rationalists belief is that we obtain knowledge in thought by just thinking rather than from experience, for these reasons the idea that we are born with innate ideas are crucial to any rationalist. In this essay I will explore the concept of innate ideas and the rationalist’s arguments to support the idea and also the empiricists ideas to argue against the idea. The idea of innate ideas is that from birth we already have ideas in our minds and that we are not a blank sheet, some people believe these ideas are put into our minds by god. Rationalists also believe that we do not need experience to acquire these ideas and we are capable of unlocking these ideas through thinking alone, any empiricist would not be fond of this view. Rationalists have several ideas they believe we are born with and do not gain through experience for example: God, we as humans have never experienced god and yet we still have an idea of god therefore we must have an innate idea of god. However the apparent fact that we all have the same innate idea of supreme being is unjustified as many depictions of god seem to be based on the culture of the society, for example many African religious groups have depicted Jesus as black African, whilst Leonardo da Vinci’s picture of the last supper pictures him as a white man (according to Christianity God, Jesus, and the holy spirit are all one being). Another good example is Maths we have never experienced, for example, the number 3 however we have the idea of 3 in our minds and we understand the concept. A final example is simple logical truths for example we know that it can’t be raining and not raining in the same place at the same time. Another example of innate ideas is Meno’s slave boy. The story goes like this, Socrates asked Meno’s slave boy to double the area of a square the slave boy couldn’t but when Socrates drew a line through the square the slave managed to...

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...Locke’s primary focus is set on explaining the birth of one’s knowledge and how we can only gain this through experience and observation. In this essay, I will offer my own, personal interpretation and response of the lessons, ideas, and devices that Locke communicates through his essay.
It is tremendously evident that Locke’s essay is relatively the most influential work ever composed. He begins by stating the relationship of principles versus ideas, including that one’s identity is farthest from being innate. His main strategy focuses on principles that serve as best candidates that allow us to experience life to its extent. For example, “Whatever is is; nothing can be and not be simultaneously,” is a universally known doctrine by Locke. This statement is truly powerful. In other words, whatever happens, happens. Build yourself a bridge, cross it, and move forward.
Locke clarifies that his “Treatise” is composed of things that he is definitely persuaded by. He claims that he is “liable to make just as many mistakes as the person reading.” With this, he says that if one does not gain anything from his writings, to not blame him. His objective is to enlighten his writers (mainly his friends) and offer them insight through his essay. Another crucial idea Locke presents is that not everything in this world is universally agreed on. He states, “it is not one simple view of it that will gain it admittance into every...

...men, that there are in the understanding certain innate principles; some primary notions, characters, as it were, stamped upon the mind of man, which the soul receives in its first being, and brings into the world with it.’ [1]
Innateideas are those principles that are found present in the mind at birth as opposed to those which arrive and develop throughout our lives as a result of sensory experience. Whether or not these innate principles exist, holds for many philosophers many important implications. There are many examples of philosophers who at various times in the history of philosophy have put forward this theory in order to locate the source of valid knowledge. Famously, Plato claimed that knowledge procured from the senses is invalid. That the data received is merely a reflection or a shadow of reality and that the pure, true image of reality is imprinted upon our souls before birth. Without the possibility of any innate notions his theory would be implicitly invalid. René Descartes is another of these examples. Descartes asserted in The Meditations that our notion of the existence of the self: cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am), the existence of God, and some logical propositions like, from nothing comes nothing are all innateideas and are all central to his philosophy. He believed that these innateideas appear to us above all...

...Examine the key ideas of utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is a relativist, consequentialist and teleological system of ethics based on the idea of ‘utility’. This means usefulness and utilitarian suggest that everyone should be the most useful thing. The theory was devised by Jeremy Bentham who said “an action is right if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number”. He believed human beings are motivated by pleasure and pain.
Bentham lived in an era of great social and scientific change and unrest; he wanted to produce a modern and rational approach to morality. He was hedonist and believed that humans naturally pursued pleased and tried to avoid pain, he created the hedonic calculus in which happiness is measured with seven different elements including duration of happiness, the intensity of it and the purity of it. His theory is also known as the act utilitarianism – this is the belief that solutions to situations might change depending on the consequences of the act. He says ‘by utility is meant that property of any object whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good or happiness’ which summarizes Bentham’s view on his entire belief of utilitarianism.
John Mill Stuart modified the theory and criticised Bentham’s theory of utilitarianism and maintained that the well-being of a person was the greatest importance as Bentham’s theory allows sadistic pleasure for example, under Bentham’s theory, if 10...

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Examine the Key Ideas of Situation Ethics (21 Marks)
In this essay, I am going to examine the key features of Situation Ethics. Situation Ethics is a teleological theory that resolves ethical and moral issues relative to the situation and was developed at a time when society and the church were facing drastic and permanent change. It is most commonly associated with Joseph Fletcher and J.A.T Robinson and also William Barclay. Situation Ethics is also considered to be the method of ethical decision making that states that you must consider “noble love” (agapé) in decision making and that a moral decision is correct if it is the most loving thing to do. The theory is based upon this idea of agapé love which is defined by William Barclay as “unconquerable good will”.
Situation Ethics developed during the 1960s and the post war generation was a great influence on this. Between the end of the Second World War and the end of the 1960s, Western Europe and North America were socially, culturally and morally transformed. Up until the 1960s, many people still followed the “old fashioned” approach of Divine Command Ethics where by people obeyed the Bible and the teachings presented in them. People believed that by following the teachings of God as directly revealed by Him through scripture and the Church, they were doing good. However, by the 1960s all this changed. This quote was produced in 1966: “Greater...

...think that knowledge is gained as one grows up. In simple terms, is knowledge nature or nurture? Are you already born to be joining IMSA or are you brought up with a great education? Plato believes that knowledge is innate, meaning that it’s already in you from the beginning, also known as a priori knowledge. But other philosophers claim that knowledge is gained through experience. While Plato’s theory does make some sense, I believe that the opposing side, empiricism, has more value in today’s society.
Plato’s theory on recollection and a priori knowledge is first brought up in his dialogue Meno. Socrates is Plato’s spokesperson to Meno. In the dialogue Meno asks Socrates if virtue can be taught. Socrates then tries to show that knowledge is brought up from within. He calls Meno’s uneducated slave and asks him to try and double the area of a figure shown. Through questions and answers the slave successfully draws the figure. Socrates then tries to prove that because he is “uneducated” and successfully drew the figure, knowledge is innate and that everyone is always born with it. (Pojman 43-44)
Some of the problems that I have with the dialogue are that Socrates assumes through the figure that the uneducated slave drew had the knowledge. If knowledge is innate then there would be no reason to call his slave uneducated. How can one tell that through the questions asked and the answers that were given is reliable? What if...

...Julia Holmes
CAL 105
Political Philosophers Essay
Innate Orientations
Political philosophers touch on various subjects as human behavior, society and ethics and have various opinions on these subjects, some of which I agree with, some of which I disagree with. People are born with free will and in general act for the greater good of society, whether they realize it or not, and strive for an environment free of conflict. Since the beginning of modern human history we have created a society based on contributions from numerous social groups. Society is a summation of education, culture and traditions that are developed in a self-identified group of people. Moral philosophy and ethics permeate humankind and its developments and interactions. Of all of the philosophers that we have read, my views are most shared by John Locke.
The general population tries to avoid situations that cause distress and havoc. A typical human would rather live in a state without conflict; people who prefer to live in a state of conflict are considered dysfunctional. We can see an example of this in the media, specifically on reality TV shows. Programs like Jersey Shore and Bad Girls Club projects the behavior of people who prefer to live in a state of conflict. The general population looks down on the people on these shows because there is an unwritten social standard of cooperation among people who are being contradicted. Therefore, people are, for the most...

...﻿Examine the key ideas of two critiques of religious belief
Freud was a neurologist and is known as the founding father of psychoanalysis. Freud believed that religion is used as a protective system that man should ‘disregard in its relation to reality’. Freud saw to origins of religious belief lying with primitive tribes. The tension between the dominant male and the subordinate males (sons) culminates to over throw the father (this is a manifestation of the Oedipus complex). However, the guilt that the son then feels because of this is alleviated only by worshiping his father. The super-ego (the part of your subconscious that encourages you to act morally it represses anti-social impulses such as killing, and by inducing fear and guilt, it is crucial for civilisation) then takes the place of the father as a source of internalised authority, which is derived from the family, education and Church. God is a father substitute and a projection of the super-ego. Freud believed that man is dependent on religion to ‘make his helplessness tolerable’ and whilst he maintained this dependency he could never truly be happy. Freud realised that a feeling of helplessness in the face of external dangers, inner impulses and death and society, were at the route of religion. He observed that many religious rituals were similar to obsessive rituals. These are to protect the ego (the more primal part of your subconscious) from fantasies, desires and especially...

...Examine the key ideas associated with law and punishment
Law and Punishment go hand in hand. There are Laws, which are the system of rules which a particular country or community recognises as regulating the actions of followers, and there are punishments, for when a member of said country/community breaks the rules. Punishment is defined as the infliction of a penalty or to cause pain for an offence. Most of the time it is not a choice as to whether you are part of a law-following community because almost all countries in the world have some kind of law-system and often the minute you turn the age where you are legally responsible or step off the boat, plane or train you are subjected to their laws.
The Biblical views on punishment have often been based on the old testament teaching ‘an eye for an eye’. The bible also lays out punishments for certain crimes that appear to follow this teaching.
Except that there are many punishments in the bible that seem to be out of proportion to the crime e.g. “whoever curses his father or his mother will be put to death”. There are many problems with this statement for example it does not state how old the son/daughter has to be to deserve this punishment, it seems to imply even a 4 year old who does not necessarily know what they are saying can be put to death for cursing their parents. An eye for an eye is also relevant in today’s laws, it is the basis of retributive justice that is present in our...